Food Tips: How to Roast Poblano Peppers

You can easily roast poblano peppers at home. This How to Roast Poblano Peppers tutorial will walk you through the entire process, from start to finish.

I’ve come across a few good recipes that require using roasted poblano peppers. I’ve also made recipes that require roasted poblano peppers. These reicpes include stuffed poblano peppers (I will be making that again one day so I can post it on my blog) Roasted Poblano & Crab Chowder, and Chili Rellano Casserole. I know it’s rather easy to buy a jar of already roasted poblano peppers but why not roast them yourself? It’s cheaper, the peppers are fresher and they lack the added sodium that comes with any processed packaged food.

Today I will be sharing with you a simple tutorial on how to roast poblano peppers. I know there are many tutorials on the internet on how to roast poblano peppers but I figured I would share my version of roasting with all of you in hopes that you would gain some other valuable food knowledge from my blog! I hope you enjoy this tutorial.

How to Roast Poblano Peppers

Large bowl with a lid (if you don’t have a lid for the bowl, you can use plastic wrap to cover it)

Gloves (I recommend wearing gloves while handling the roasted peppers. Trust me, they will irritate your skin if you don’t)

Directions

Set your oven to broil (if you have a high and low broil setting, set to high)

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Spray each poblano pepper with cooking spray, ensuring that all surfaces are covered with the spray.

Place the peppers on the aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

Broil for about 5-10 minutes per side or until the skins are dark and bubbly. The entire skin doesn’t need to be dark but to ensure that the skins are easily removed, the majority of the skins should be dark and bubbly. I also recommend leaving your oven slightly cracked open so the peppers to not burn too much. You want them to be crispy but not burnt.

Remove the peppers from the oven and place in the bowl. Cover and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Put on your gloves and start removing the skins from the peppers. Remove as much of the skin as you can and then run the pepper under cold water. The water will help to lift more of the skins off. Remove the cap and gently remove any of the seeds. You can also do this under running water.

Be sure to be gentle with the peppers while removing the skins and the seeds. They are delicate and will break easily. If you are using them in soups or to make a casserole, it won’t matter if they break but if you are making stuffed peppers, you will want the peppers to stay in once piece.

Will you try roasting poblano peppers now? Have you ever roasted them? if so, what methods do you use? I’d love to hear from you!

43 comments on “Food Tips: How to Roast Poblano Peppers”

I roasted poblanos many years ago without enough information, i.e., WEAR GLOVES! There were no instructions on handling of them and I was miserable as had touched my face, nose, etc., and the apartment was sooo smoky afterward. Outside is best, I guess, but I will be trying them indoors soon. Surprised to see that not many instructions include caution re: handling. Will let you know…Thanks for the assist.

I just tried this last night to put the peppers in a sauce. Worked great. I didn’t have any gloves and I read somewhere previously to cover your hands in olive oil before touching the pepper. I did that also worked perfectly. It’s a good alternative if you don’t have gloves.

Hi Michael,
You’re welcome. Yes, I have heard of them being fire-roasted over a gas stove. You can certainly roast them this way. I’ve never done it before, though. I don’t have a gas stove! If you try it out that way, let me know how they turn out. :)

You can roast poblano peppers over an open flame (which is the traditional way to get them peeled) until they are black all over, place in a plastic bag for steaming and cooling and after about 15-20 min you can remove the charred peel. We DO NOT rinse under water under any circumstances since this removes the oils on the peppers which add lots of flavor, just wipe off with your fingers. Yes, you could use gloves and oil on your hands but we’ve never needed it. If they are hot (and something they are) put a pinch of salt under your tongue and it will take the spice away from hands,face, etc. works great. You can do the broiler method or right on induction cooktops (these work for making tortillas too) with oil on the poblanos and then turn with thongs. Then the plastic bag and the peeling. So whatever works for you, they’re easily adaptable except for an electric cooktop

Just now January (2017) trying this in my woodstove…its winter here so the wood stove is cooking nice and hot. After 15 min. or so, not any blackening or bubbling but it is covered to keep the ash off. I have high hopes. This is the first time my grocer has offered the Poblanos up for purchase (Ontario, Canada). Will post back on my results.

My favorite channels are the ones that have cooking shows. I have seen several shows using poblanos. In 10 years, I have never purchased a poblano pepper. Until now. I really appreciate sites like this, that it is so simple and easy to follow. They turned out great!! It goes to show that you don’t need a ‘chef’s kitchen, to cook like one!! We have used these in burgers, lasagna, omelets, burritos, and even cold vegetable soups! Excellent!!

You can brush them with olive oil and then roast them. I’ve never eaten them on bread but if that is something you want to try, you certainly could! I bet they would be great on a grilled cheese sandwich!

We use Poblanos in any and all ways possible, in sandwiches usually done with roasted garlic, onion and peppers with melting cheese in a broiler and Mexican Oregano. Drizzle oil and vinegar lightly over and top with bread or eat open faced, really good. You can add a lot more cheese in a casserole and have it as a “fondue” type dish for quesadillas served family style, kids love it.

Never have I ever roasted Poblano Peppers before today. Still, and despite simply skim reading over your directions, I was able to [seemingly] master the roasting of a Poblano Pepper. The skin is easy to know when ready because it blisters, and the cold water did assist with skin removal, though I did not try not using water. Still, regardless of reading time, roasting peppers according to your directions, took only the necessary amount of time with very little effort.

On another note, I did not have gloves but tried the oil as was suggested above. I used Trader J brand olive oil, it seemed to work, my hands don’t reek of pepper or feel irritated. Furthermore, to test the hypothesis I [lightly] touched the inner corner of my eye near the duct, it stung less than mildly and did not necessarily irritate my eye to any intolerable degree of discomfort. So, I guess it works, mostly. It’s definitely plausible since, when a person waxes the facial skin (lip, eyebrow, etcetera…) using hot wax, applying oil to the area to be waxed prevents the skin from being ripped off with the pull. Trust me, I know.

In conclusion, the recipe was simple and the forum was helpful. Thanks!

I had the pleasure of spending the morning with the owner and chef of “Azcena Zapoteca” outside of Oaxaca Mexico. He showed me the fine points of pealing chiles. One thing he was very specific about was no water used pealing peppers. He heated the peppers over a wood fire covered them and then used a towel to rub off the peal. The peppers had much more flavor.

Fresh they are called “Chile Poblanos”, when they are dried they are then turned into: “Chile Ancho”, the drying turns them smokey and sweet, these can also be stuffed like the Poblanos. Same chile different treatment completely different taste. Jalapenos are green when fresh, red they are old- dried and sweetened they turn into Chipotles but it’s the same pepper, these are sometimes stuffed in many ways too. Pretty cool I say….

I have read similar recipes but the roasting times were not long enough. Your estimate of 10 minutes is better. I have a countertop oven and I just was patient until the chilis charred, turning them a few times. I let them cool and steam in a covered casserole dish. The skins almost fell off by themselves.

I did not use gloves but I was very careful not to rub my eyes, a mistake I made not long ago while making salsa. Sometimes you learn by making mistakes and that was a big one but the salsa was pretty good.